In this file photo, visitors tour the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

(Newser)
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Asian-Americans make up 6% of the US population but 21% of this year's freshman class at Harvard, reports the Boston Globe. An impressive stat for Asian-Americans? It's more like a disgrace, asserts a federal complaint lodged against the university yesterday by Asian-American groups. It argues that the 21% figure should be way higher but that Harvard holds Asian-American students to higher standards than students of other races. "We want to eliminate discrimination of Asian-Americans, and we want procedural justice for all racial groups," organizer Yukong Zhao tells NBC News. In response, a Harvard spokesperson says the school's "holistic" admissions policies are designed to create a diverse student body, and he notes that the percentage of Asian-American students has risen from about 18% over the last decade.

Not good enough, says the complaint, which wants Harvard to “immediately cease and desist from using stereotypes, racial biases and other discriminatory means in evaluating Asian-American applicants,” reports the Wall Street Journal. The complaint cites research showing that Asian-American students must score 140 points higher than white students on SATs, 270 points higher than Hispanics, and 450 points higher than African-Americans to equal their chances of admission. The complaint, filed with the US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, doesn't single out any individual cases of alleged discrimination, but it calls for a federal investigation of Harvard policies.

If the complaint is true, then it is legitimate. People are individuals and should be treated as such.

njgreen

May 17, 2015 9:52 PM CDT

This has unmistakable parallels to the rise of the desire for "well-rounded" college students, which began as a way of keeping down the number of Jews getting admitted to top schools: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/11/23/ivy-league-college-asians-race-jews-students-diversity-discrimination-quotas-column/19445201/ Now they call it a "holistic" process, and it's a way of discriminating against Asians. Wealthy, cultured white kids who pretend not to be rich and have funky liberal ideas but don't challenge the power structure are fun. Exotic students of color whose mere presence on campus serves to assuage our guilt - now they are fun. Frat guys and gals and athletes will never go out of style, either, and are basically still the ones in charge. As for hard-working smelly immigrant types who study all the time, care about what they are learning, and actually understand the material? Who cares if one of them might have the cure for cancer. They're just no fun at all and we want less of them.

Marcus Halberstram

May 17, 2015 12:46 PM CDT

The desire to admit more blacks is the crux of the issue. Everyone is trying to talk around it for obvious reasons, but it's at the center of this.